Tough Decisions To Make

I think if he is attacking the other horses you have to consider their safety too. If you have tried everything else then you need to do what is safest and kindest for everyone. I would usually say keep and work on him, but after 6 years and with the market the way it is....?

I feel the same way about dangerous people (those where there is no doubt they are guilty of terrible crimes) though so I may not be the best person to advise!
 
I thought I would update you all. He kicked my old boy on the hock, a fellow livery saw it happen and called me straight away. She said he was very aggressive and the incident appeared to happen out of the blue. My old boy was lame and stiff, but after 5 days of box rest he came sound again, which I am thankful for. Upon speaking with the vet again I decided enough was enough, I simply could not risk further injury. The vet came back out last Wednesday, he was PTS on the yard. Afterwards a number of other liveries comforted me, they assured me I had done the correct thing by him. I feel at peace with the decision.


RIP Rusty Pony.

Thank you to those who offered support. Sometimes knowing what you need to do, and actually doing it, are complete are polar opposites.
 
I think he was lucky to have found you. You have given him stability and he has been well cared for, in horse terms a good life so you owe him nothing and if you did decide its time he will know nothing.
I had an old horse with navicular, he also had COPD, every year I would get the vet out to asses him and see if he could manage a bit longer. One summer I bought a young pony and he was turned out with him, it made realise how old and stiff he had got, I had him PTS at the end of the summer. Sometimes you just need a bit of objectivity.
Sorry missed your post, as I said he was lucky to have found you.x
 
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To be honest, behaviour that unpredictable is sure to have some physical cause. And personally, I wouldn't let a pony with a tendency for freaking out unexpectedly out of my sight. What if someone thought they could 'sort it' and were injured?

We had one, a 7 year old, stunning, beautifully bred gelding - totally unpredictable. He was sound, back/saddle/teeth checked etc, and a delight 99% of the time, but would occasionally rear vertically for no apparent reason. We thought it was a quirk or an evasion, and to be honest ignored it, until he eventually went over backwards with my mum on board. At that point we had to draw a line. X rays of his front hooves revealed navicular and also damage from laminitis, probably when he was very young :( The rearing must have been a panic response to pain in his feet. Vet said that it was degenerative, and he couldn't be ridden and probably would very quickly become unsound in the field, and the kindest option was euthanasia. It was a heartbreaking time, but in a way the vet made the decision for us. Would we have pts if he'd never been diagnosed and the rearing continued? I honestly couldn't say, but we certainly wouldn't have given him away/loaned him out.
 
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a.n.o.n said:
I thought I would update you all. He kicked my old boy on the hock, a fellow livery saw it happen and called me straight away. She said he was very aggressive and the incident appeared to happen out of the blue. My old boy was lame and stiff, but after 5 days of box rest he came sound again, which I am thankful for. Upon speaking with the vet again I decided enough was enough, I simply could not risk further injury. The vet came back out last Wednesday, he was PTS on the yard. Afterwards a number of other liveries comforted me, they assured me I had done the correct thing by him. I feel at peace with the decision.


RIP Rusty Pony.

Thank you to those who offered support. Sometimes knowing what you need to do, and actually doing it, are complete are polar opposites.
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Just read this :( *hugs* to you, and I absolutely, 100% believe you have made the right decision.
 
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